Boot scrubbers of the type above referred to are well known and generally include fixed brushes mounted to a housing which, in turn, is fastened to the surface on which such is supported generally semi-permanently as by screwing the housing to a wooden porch or deck floor surface to assure that the device remains stationary when the user positioned adjacent the device passes his/her boots one at a time into contact with the brushes. Although operable, such devices mar the supporting surface to which they are secured and/or present mounting difficulties when it is desired to secure the device to surfaces such as flagstone, concrete, sand or grass, etc.
Some designs to overcome the above-indicated problem has been proposed as by materially increasing the device's width such as by providing integral platforms on either side of the brush unit such that the operator can stand on one of these platforms thus utilizing his/her own body weight to stabilize the unit such as shown in U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D386,858 and D439,714. As may be apparent from viewing such patents, such approach greatly increased the length and bulk of the unit. Recognizing such, boot scrubber products have incorporated decorative designs on or in such platforms in an attempt to reduce the device's bulky appearance such as the star cutouts in U.S. Pat. No. D439,714. While this approach may be more visually appealing, it does not remedy the obvious inconveniences caused by the device's overall increased length.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a boot scrubber, which is compact, simple to operate and does not materially increase the bulk of the device beyond that necessary for operational functionality of the scrubbing brushes.
A further object of the invention is to provide a boot scrubber which can be easily moved to varied locations and which requires no semi-permanent or permanent fastening to its supporting surface.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by a boot scrubbing device for removing dirt and sand from boots one boot at a time of a person wearing such footwear while such person stands adjacent said device, said device including a housing including a pair of upright longitudinally-spaced members having generally planar outer surfaces and including bottom edge positions thereof, said housing further including a base member having laterally-spaced lower portions, said lower portions of said base member and said bottom edge portions of said upright members cooperatively forming a means for contacting an essentially flat supporting surface so as to position said device on said supporting surface, said base member and said upright members further cooperatively supporting a fixed brush assembly therebetween, and at least one of said upright members including a foot engageable housing positioning and stabilizing flap hingedly connected thereto, said flap being substantially planar and having an inner surface and an outer surface, said inner surface of said flap adapted for upright positioning against the outer surface of said at least one upright member when the flap is in a storage position and movable from said storage position to a position where said flap extends longitudinally from the bottom edge portion of said at least one upright member in a housing stabilizing position where the outer surface thereof rests on said supporting surface and the inner surface thereof faces upward for contact by the other boot of the person wearing such boot whereby the person's body weight stabilizes the position of the device while the one boot is being scrubbed.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.